


Family

by Diaph



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Adoption, Children, F/F, Family, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-06 17:42:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8762716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diaph/pseuds/Diaph
Summary: How quickly can one night change your life? After Supergirl rescues an orphaned baby from an apartment fire, CPS can't send a social worker until Monday and Kara can't bare to leave her all alone in the hospital until then. Instead she takes the baby, swaddled in her cape, back home to her wife and earns the kind of reckoning Lena reserved for the very worst offences. Though slowly, Lena comes around to the little thing attached to Kara's hip, by the end of it will either of them be able to part with her?Warning: soft in the highest degree and easy on the heart.





	1. Chapter I

She awoke to a deep dryness in her throat that proved impossible to swallow away. Despite the gnawing in her windpipe, despite Kara’s empty side of the bed, she suffered through it with knitted eyes and tried to fall back asleep for the sakes of the merger meeting in the morning. The home was on the verge of awake, kitchen cupboards opening and closing, light from the living room refracting off of the marble floor and seeping through the crack beneath the bottom of their bedroom door. It was enough to earn Lena’s retreat beneath the pillows with a deep groan.

There was a high pitched wail that cut through the quiet, it was enough to jolt her out of a state of barely-there sleep. Kara’s voice quickly chased after the long drawn out squeals, hushing and softening and quelling as best she could. Lena slipped on the silk robe and tied it loosely, bleary eyed and urgent, following the cutting sound through the hallway.

She found the source of the noise in Kara’s uniformed arms, all clenched hands and screaming wails. Lena blinked, standing there and managing little else, she slipped off the edge of her own resolve as if it were ice melting in the sun. Despite the absurdity, despite the farcicality of her Faberge eggs pushed out of the way to make way for a bottle bag, despite all of it, she watched the way Kara cooed over the little thing and held off for a moment.

“What is that?”

“A baby.” Kara murmured quietly.

“Please tell me…”

Kara glanced up and the look halted Lena, sore eyed with the curve of her mouth aching against the urge to cry again. She stood resilient in the face of it and in turn Lena gave up her act, thin mouthed and arms crossed, she pretended to carry on but gave herself away with a long worried look at her wife.

“I didn’t get there in time…” Kara started and stopped, biting her mouth. “I tried to save all of them but it was just too late. I found her in the bathtub,” she nodded down to the baby, “someone wrapped her in wet blankets and it must have stopped the smoke.” she lost her words to the long gnaw in her throat and blinked off glistening tears.

“This isn’t a Hallmark movie, Kara, you can’t just bring home abandoned babies because it seems like the nicest thing to do.” Lena softly sighed and her shoulders deflated with it.

“Once upon a time someone did it for you…” Kara whispered and peered up with narrowing pearls. “We can’t just leave her all alone Lena. We’re all she has right now.”

“Why do you have to be so…”

“Difficult?”

“Human!” Lena exasperatedly sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

The cast iron in Lena’s gut became slightly malleable on her wife’s words, not much, just enough to move again, maybe just enough to take a few steps forward. She unwound her crossed arms and let them settle at her side, her brow knotting into a purposeful empathetic expression. The aching tiny sobs from the little thing in Kara’s arms offset the normal routine to their arguments, normally by now Lena made a point of purposely losing the fight like a puppy that rolled on its side for the runt of the litter. Now the runt had a runt of her own and Lena didn’t know what to do with it all.

“Give her to me.” she said on rolling eyes.

“Lena—”

“I’ll watch her whilst you fill the sink.” she sighed and took the baby to her shoulder. “Go! Warm water, towels, before she freezes.” she urged her wife with a little hip nudge.

The baby immediately ceased in her complaints and settled into Lena’s stiff and unwelcoming hands. It nearly earned a wry little smile from the Luthor, it was snuffed out in favor of a flatter expression, appraising the little girl and the way she seemed to shrink with legs that curled up like a little frog against the silk of her dressing gown. She wasn’t interested in the child’s breeding, didn’t care if she was human or other, what held her captive was the fear she might start crying again.

“You’re a lot more terrifying than you look.” Lena muttered quietly, tracing a finger near a little sooty reddened patch of leg. “I think we better take care of that, what do you think? Should we get you cleaned up?” she cooed down.

“You’re a natural…”

“Don’t.” Lena warned and raised her gaze. “I have a meeting in less than four hours and explaining to the investors that I’m late because my wife literally stole a baby wasn’t on the agenda-”

“So I should have left her?!”

“Of course not! I’m just pointing out that this is entirely something you would do.”

“And what does that mean?” Kara nibbled, hands on her hips, halted in her search for towels.

“Well, abandonment issues are kind of your progress area-”

“Don’t you dare.” Kara lowered her voice into a whisper. “This has nothing to do with me, this is about her. It’s about passing on a kindness that was given to us. It’s about doing the right thing!” Kara came as close to seething as she ever would.

“I’m sorry.” Lena shrunk.

“What?” she halted her puffing cheeks in surprise. “Did you… is the argument over already?”

“I said, Kara, I’m sorry.” Lena peered up with softened eyes, “You’re right. I know you’re right. It’s just… a lot.” she admitted, guilty and exhausted, completely unprepared in the art of tending to a squealing baby.

“Well,” Kara blushed and faltered in her victory, “the good news is it’s just one weekend and we do make a pretty good team.”

Lena looked at her in that gentle way she reserved for the things she would die loving. For a moment, fleeting and not enough, the belly-busting squeals dampened into background noise and she drank in Kara’s optimistic little smile like coffee. Carefully, she handed the baby over the counter and watched Kara turn the faucets off.

Amelia. Lena settled on the sound of the name, even enjoyed the way it rolled off her tongue whilst they washed the soot off her skin, one of them stretching out her curled-up limbs, the other in charge of the soapy cloth. She prefered the way the name knocked about inside Kara’s mouth… as if it had always existed there like a forgotten term of endearment in her mother tongue; there was a glimmer in her eyes, a softness to her, a brightness in her cheeks whenever she cooed it.

She liked the way Kara looked around the infant. Liked the way her cheeks puffed out and her tongue peeked out of her lips and her nose scrunched into an expression of quiet adoration. She cursed herself, bit the inside of cheek and did the big internal lecture about how bad an idea this was, terrible in fact, but nonetheless the sight of Kara being super in some tiny fathomable way that Lena could comprehend was a joy.

“Shouldn’t you get ready for your meeting?” Kara called to her wife on the sight of the minute hand creeping round on the clock. She wrapped the dozing newborn in one of Lena’s clean scarfs — the only thing they owned that was anything close to a muslin and scooped the littlest alien into her arms.

Lena appeared from the hallway, the slender bit of her jaw extended into a mischievous expression, biting her mouth and digging her hands into her dressing gown pockets. “You know I think the meeting can be postponed… you need me here today.”

“Lena, seriously, we’ll be fine-”

“I’m needed.” Lena interrupted her with a shrug. “I can’t remember the last time I missed a day of work but when your wife needs you, she needs you. I really don’t mind. I almost like being around the kid when she’s not pooping or screaming. Almost.” she gave a shallow little roll of her green eyes.

“Well aren’t you just my hero.” Kara bit her grinning cheeks.


	2. Chapter II

It was an urgent, important, eye-wateringly boring meeting that kept her at DEO headquarters long past lunch time. Fingers tapping against her leg, pen drumming the table, Kara tolerated the powerpoint presentation long into the twentieth slide before slipping out with excuses of an upset stomach. There was an eagerness to return home and she felt a small guilt that it wasn't just for Lena, though it was quickly overshadowed with excitement. 

She did well to dodge Mrs Fairchild in the hallway. She always seemed to sense when Kara was in a hurry, it was in these moments she suddenly appeared outside of her door, yapping dog in tow, droning on about a single bachelor son Kara had never met. Lena always grinned when she came home and complained about their neighbour, always crept up and slipped her hands around Kara from behind and whispered little promises that Mrs Fairchild's son was no match stacked up against her.

It was this single action that kept Kara busy most days looking for small things to complain about for when she got home. Today was different though, Kara was certain all the complaining in the world belonged to Lena, held prisoner at home on one of her singular days off by a screaming newborn that didn't belong to them. All whilst she snuck away for an impromptu meeting.

Kara stepped forward to knock the door though it swung open before she could. True to form, Lena was there, hand on hip, chewing the corner of her mouth.

"There's my wonderful, amazing, darling wife-"

"Save it."

"That bad?" Kara winced and stepped past her eagerly.

"Terrible." Lena groaned, "She's just gone to sleep and I'm positive it's all a ruse. She's breaking me through psychological warfare."

"Good job you're unbreakable, huh?" Kara leaned and kissed the crook of her wife's neck, loosened the tense bit of muscle there, earned a deep enough sigh to displace the hair around her cheek.

"She terrifies me."

"She's supposed to." Kara lingered, nose trailing to a spot of collar bone she adored quietly.

"I think I kinda like her."

"You're supposed to." Kara rolled her eyes and gently escaped her wife's grasps. "Where is she?"

"In my defence." Lena started to wince with her finger in the air, trailing behind her wife, following her to the living room where the crime scene lay underway. "I had nothing else to do today…"

"What is this?" Kara grinned, Lena didn't see, but she stood there and beamed right into her cupped hand.

"She made me do it."

"I can see that."

Kara surveyed the scene, the oak crib was shoddy and half built, a testament to Lena's lack of craftsmanship. The instructions lay crumpled beside the long sofa, a testament to Lena's lack of patience. The teddy bear and bouncer and cream babygro set were all put to good use by the little sleeping Amelia, a testament to Lena's soft heart.

"She wouldn't stop crying and I thought a change of scenery might help. Sebastian took a wrong turn and the next thing I know we were uptown and they had the most darling baby boutique and I—"

"bought her the whole store?"

"It did the trick." Lena acquiesced, guilty and pleased with herself in equal measure.

Kara pretended to be annoyed for a moment, she played the part poorly and didn't care otherwise. It only lasted for a moment before the grin broke out into her face like sunshine breaking through the cracks of winter. Lena basked in it and breathed a relieved sigh.

"She's just a weekend guest, you know?" Kara checked these facts and took a step forward, hands outstretched for the small expanse of tailored waist that poked through Lena's blazer.

"Well maybe she can take it with her…"

"A bespoke crib and wardrobe?"

Lena melted under Kara's raised brow, "I stopped short of monograming the rompers. Give me that much." she grouched.

"You have no idea how much I can't wait to tell Alex about this."

"Don't you dare."

"She thought you would drop the baby."

"Your sister  _ never _ liked me." Lena huffed and made a show of it.

"She loves you."

"Only because it makes you happy."

"Mmm, This." Kara thought for a moment and broke into a little grin, looking between the purchases of the day. "This makes a good case for yourself."

"I didn't know I was under trial?"

At that Kara chuckled and slipped off her coat, then her scarf, ridding herself of the day's layers in the deep warmth that sat on her. "You fell in love with a Danvers. As far as my family is concerned you're always under trial." Kara teased, wrinkled nose and all.

There was an embrace, a quick peck, fleeting and not nearly enough for either. Kara lived in Lena's veins, torturous and heady as it was, there was a necessary amount of her wife Lena needed to survive. A daily quota of kisses and brushed hands and small glances necessary to keep her ticking. A cacophony of sobs interrupted them, Amelia making her position on the matter quite clear.

Lena tightened her mouth and closed her eyes. The quick grinning kiss to her jaw did little to soften her disposition, though the sight of Kara making herself small and plucking the child to her chest certainly helped.

"Did you change her?" Kara hummed over the wailing sobs, scrunching her nose as she tucked Amelia's head under her chin.

"What?" Lena blinked back into motion.

"Did you change her?"

"Well she certainly didn't arrive in my kitchen in a Dior jumpsuit." Lena quirked her mouth and glared in confusion.

Kara bit back the groan and tilted to the little thing in her arms. "Well, it looks like auntie Alex just won ten dollars. Let's get you cleaned up and give her the good news-"

"Wait. Hold on… What did you just say?" Lena hunched her gut around the words, shoulders stiffening in tandem.

"Oh..." Kara furled her brow and kicked herself. "It's nothing. We made this stupid wager and-"

"No, Kara, the other thing." Lena followed her wife on hot heels to the kitchen. "Auntie Alex?" she soured on the words.

"It was nothing."

"It sounded like something."

"Forget I said anything." she shrugged and walked a little faster.

"Kara Zor-El."

"Stop!" Kara halted and grouched, unsettling the baby in her arms into whimpering sobs once again. She reclaimed herself. Did well to hide the flex of her jaw. "I, I just. Please do this one thing for me and stop reminding me that I have to take her to a scary place on Monday with strangers in suits and hand her over. Stop it." she sighed and glanced over her wife. "Let me have this."

"We're strangers. We found her yesterday!"

"We're not strangers!" Kara seethed. Shoulders hunched, stopped in the hallway once more, she turned slowly on her heels, "We're probably the best equipped people in the world to help her. I care about her. God knows you must care in your own apathetic way. Don't you dare take that away from her Lena."

Lena stood rooted to the spot whilst Kara continued down the hall. Defeated and guilty, she stared at a small bit of floor and felt the family portrait on the bearing wall bore into her, half pity and half repulsion.

She forced the truth into her blood. Made herself gulp in the knowledge that Amelia wasn't theirs to love, no matter how bitter it tasted. It was easy before, then she changed the little thing and blew raspberries on her frog legs and earned a smile. Smitten as she was, desperate for more, she stiffened and refused herself the tiny pleasure. No matter how much it made her heart gnaw.

 

* * *

 

Kara climbed into bed, guilty and contemplative of the day's events. It felt so much bigger with Lena in the guest bedroom. Whenever she was away on business it was a guilty pleasure having the bed to herself. Sprawled out, tossing and turning, threshing and wrapping the sheets between her legs, there was no comfort to be found tonight.

There was a small accomplishment in dragging their argument to the day's finish line, normally they were poorly trained in such sport, both too diplomatic, both too eager to please the other. The victory brought Kara no warmth, in fact it did quite the opposite, instead she felt a merciless cool guilt sit in her throat. 

There were moments she allowed Lena to exist in a happy lucid dream where she made herself less than. It was small things that achieved it like leaning round the door frame and asking for help with the pickle jar or puffing through the door with half a dozen grocery bags. It was a small kindness that became a thoughtless part of her day, pretending to be less so Lena could feel useful and important.

Kara tucked her knees up to her chest and dragged her knuckles down her legs, lip between her teeth, regretful and sorry. There was an inexpertise that came with being furious but the matter of little Amelia made her blood boil. Enough so, that she snatched those tiny comforts from underneath Lena's feet, made a big show of lifting the oak crib with one hand to the bedroom, hovering up to the top shelf in the kitchen that she normally asked for help reaching.

"Do you think I was too hard on her?" she turned and whispered at the crib.

"No, you were right about everything." Lena cleared her throat at the door.

"Spying on me now?"

"Are we really going to pretend you didn't know I was there?"

At that Kara bit her tongue and hung her head in defeat. "I could hear your heart racing. I didn't know whether I should invite you in or leave you be-"

"I'm terrified." Lena blurted and stepped closer, simmering, alive with the hurt and loss of it all. "Kids were never part of the plan. I remember my childhood, my family, what it's like being a Luthor, and I never wanted that for someone else…"

"Lena, what are you saying?" Kara sat up in the bed.

"I'm not saying we're keeping her." Lena immediately warned with stern green eyes and dared to sit on the bed, smoothing the silk dressing gown down to her knees. "I'm just saying… that's why I've been so distant. And if there's anyone who can help me change that, well, I married her."

"I'm sorry I was such a meany pants."

"I kinda liked it." Lena smirked.

There was a sob that broke the air. It was a particular kind of cry that was distinguishable. Hungry cries sounded more like a cawing crow and diaper cries were a high pitched wail, this one was a testy whimpering sob, as if she were trying it on for size.

Kara pulled the covers back but Lena, nervous and fidgety, commanded the sheets to a halt and moved to the side of the crib.

"You sure?"

Lena nodded and appraised the baby, allowed herself to feel the wonderment that came with staring at her. She scooped Amelia into her arms. Long pent up cooing sounds that she'd swallowed down finally escaped her, much to Kara's pleasure.

"She's so soft." Lena blinked in awe.

"And small."

"And soft." Lena repeated, astonished.

She traced her finger over the dark hair on her head, tons of it, a mop of small black curls. It was the mouth that punched her in the heart next, mainly the plump bottom lip that yawned with approval at Lena's skill. Impossible and stupid as it was, Lena saw bits of them, Kara's mouth and eyes. Her hair and temper.

"What do you think?"

"I can't." Lena mouthed and glanced up at Kara, "I can't think." she said almost desperately.

"Maybe just talk and let your head catch up later."

"I'm, I'm Lena." she whispered, open mouthed, pearl eyed, rocking and hunched over the newborn that peered at her curiously. "I think we got off on the wrong foot."

A tiny hand reached out, extended and flexed into the slim long bit of Lena's jaw. It made a tiny laugh escape her. She felt Kara watching and appraising, knew with an absolute certainty that her wife could hear her pulse thrumming away like hummingbird wings, yet somehow she didn't care about the tiny betrayals of her body.

"You wanna get in bed?"

"Is she allowed on the bed?"

"She's not a cat." Kara teased and grinned, throwing the sheets back. They followed quickly, Lena slipped in first, the baby settled over the silk and embroidery of her dressing gown, cheek pressed into the space above her heart.

"You suit each other." Kara looked up at her wife with a little smile.

"We'll see."

  
  



	3. Chapter III

The morning call to arms bleared out of the alarm clock as it did every day, relentless come rain or shine and right on the stroke of five thirty. Safely tucked into the nook between Kara's shoulder blades with her nose slipping along the favourite bit of exposed spine, warm and buried beneath the covers, Lena's hand crept up over the pile of blankets and slapped at the snooze button until the cacophony of unwanted noise ceased.

The morning alarm was her first chore of the day. It felt fitting that the woman of steel—with her superior strength, sight and sound—should sleep as deeply as a sunken ship at the bottom of the froth speckled sea. It was in the bleary eyed hour of the morning when Kara had the least control over her strength, the eight previous alarm clocks that were crushed into pieces with one grab of her hand were testament to that. Luckily, Lena was always a light sleeper and so the morning alarm was left to her.

Lena closed her eyes and nuzzled back into the warmth of Kara's back with a little kiss along the ridges for good measure. Carefully Lena dodged the sleepy hand that reached over Kara's shoulder, the memory of the eight alarm clocks and five charging iPhones a small reminder of her sleeping wife's grip. It was only once she settled into a comfortable spot against the naked bit of spine that her eyes snapped open with realisation, surprised and offset, she shot up and stared at the crib.

"Kara." she softly shoved her exposed hip and earned no response.

"Kara..."

"Kara!" she snapped and shoved her hip again.

"Mmm?" Kara murmured against her pillow.

"Why isn't the baby crying?"

"What?"

"The alarm went off and she… there was no crying."

At that Kara opened a single eye and glanced over at Lena in surprise. "Absolutely no crying?"

"None." Lena replied and scratched her head.

First Kara ran her hands over her face and muttered a few choice words after kicking off the blankets. She got out of bed quickly and walked to the crib, grabbing Lena's silk dressing gown and slipping it around herself.

Amelia was sprawled and content in her slumber, fists curled in reflex around the edges of the blanket, mouth hung open with the tiniest of snores. Kara melted and grinned and the sight. There were few things that stirred her so easily in the morning as watching the tiny thing in her ward make scrunched up faces in her sleep.

"Amelia is still there." Kara reassured Lena and couldn't stop herself touching a kiss to the baby's nose. "Your edge however?" she teased and toed over to her wife with a little grin.

"If I was you I'd choose your next words carefully." Lena raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow and pulled her wife on top of her by the silk sash of her own dressing gown.

"No." Kara warned her with a grin and coiled her face away from Lena's grinning mouth, twisting out of her grip. "None of that around the baby."

"She's asleep."

"Nope."

"But-"

"Nope." Kara started to waver under the hand that ghosted along the inside of her thigh. "God this is torture..." she flopped backwards and shoved Lena's hand away as it reached the tip of her hip.

"Maybe I can persuade you further in the guest room?"

"Or… maybe because you love me so much you could let me persuade you of a few things…" Kara bit the inside of lip with a quirked little expression.

"What do you want?" Lena bristled knowingly.

Kara scrambled over the piled blankets until she was on top of Lena. Thighs slipping over her hips, hands pressed into her collarbones, leaning over so the slip of cleavage that peaked out from her wife's dressing gown was close enough for Lena to taste.

"What do you want?" Lena asked softer, grinning and far more malleable.

"Much better." Kara chuckled and pressed a kiss to Lena's forehead. "I was thinking after what we talked about last night we could talk about fostering-"

"No."

"You didn't let me finish!" Kara grimaced.

"No, Kara." Lena emphasised and took her hands, "I know your feelings on the matter but…"

There was a sickly feeling that eroded the pit of Lena's stomach, acidic and violent and overbearing it consumed her until she was nothing but stiff and prone beneath her wife. Blinking and breathing become a thoughtful act and slowly she tried to catch and gather her thoughts.

"But what? Lena?"

"I don't want to." Lena bit awkwardly and hid her face.

"I know that you're scared because of how you grew up but we'd be nothing like that. You'd be nothing like that." Kara tried to reassure but it did little else than agitate her.

"Has it occurred to you that maybe me not wanting us to leap into parenthood also has something to do with protecting you too?" Lena snapped and crossed her arms.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"One day I'm going to die-"

"We're not doing this." Kara warned her.

"Oh believe me we're doing this." Lena growled and the floor creaked beneath her feet stalking to the far side of the room. "I'm going to die. Alex is going to die. J'onn is going to die. We're all going to die and you're still going to be here for hundreds of years, maybe thousands." she threw her hands in the air and then set them on her hips.

Kara's mouth hardened first, as if she'd been elbowed in the solar plexus and the bite of her teeth was all that stopped her losing her breath completely. Lena watched and felt guilty but the words churned in her stomach until she couldn't hold them back.

"I know it isn't what you want to hear Kara but it's the truth and it never once terrified me how much… vaster you are than the rest of us." she pinched her nose and footed closer, "All that pain and suffering could never make you heartless or cold and I still believe that, I do, but I cannot stomach the thought of who you might be if you had to outlive a child."

Kara blinked in shock of her defeat. "You… you  _ never _ want to have children with me?"

"More than anything." Lena breathed and look at the floor.

"But you won't. That's what you're saying, right?"

"Would you have married me if you'd have known?" Lena stared at her.

"No!" Kara shuddered, "You had no right to keep that from me!"

"I know… but I was scared."

"There's something you're not telling me. There's always a part you miss out…"

"Kara-"

"No, Lena. Yesterday it was the thought of being like your mom and today it's me outliving our children and tomorrow it will be something else and round and round we go until the truth finally comes out."

"I can't have children!" Lena finally snapped. "I can't give you a baby! Is that what you wanted to hear? I can't give you a child and foolishly I thought it might never come up and we could live our lives. I can't have a baby and I'm terrified of adopting one in case I screw that up too. I'm terrified of you outliving everyone. All of it makes me feel like I can't breathe Kara!"

"Okay, just. It's okay." Kara reached out her arms and softened, held herself there until Lena could bring herself to look her in the eyes, violently shuddering on her imagined failures. "Look at me, it's okay, we're okay." Kara coaxed until her hands finally slipped around Lena's tense figure. "We're okay baby."

Lena brushed her nose along the tip of her hairline and displaced the hair with nervous little breaths, unwinding bit by bit in her wife's embrace. "Kara…"

"No." Kara halted her and leaned back to peer at her face, moving bits of hair behind her ears as she did. "I love you."

"I love you too but-"

"No buts. You are enough and you will always be enough."

Lena melted and they stood there toe to toe, holding and loving each other in an acquired way that couldn't be measured or quantified. It was strange when she first realised that, when she could no longer count the I love yous or categorise her favourite highlights or rank the bits of her wife she loved the most because everything was just too monumental for numbers.

The sound of the alarm blearing once again stirred her back to reality and Lena paused on the sound, wondering how long it had been screaming at them in the background whilst they made a poor attempt an another argument.

"Kara-"

"Nope. Not right now." she murmured and ghosted along the vast expanse of collarbone poking out of the slinky silk nightie.

"It's important-"

"Not important enough."

"Kara!" Lena finally shrugged her away and grabbed her arms. "Does it not strike you as odd that Amelia is still asleep right now?"

At that Kara turned on her feet and glanced between the alarm and undisturbed crib, blinking and processing the oddity for a moment. She slowly moved to the side of the crib and peered in where the child lay asleep, mouth still hung open and little hands clenched around the blanket, she looked at Lena next and failed to hide the concern which only made her wife's hands wring with nerves.

Lena already pulled on pants and started to button up her shirt by the time Kara finished trying to calm her with vapid little notions of heavy sleep. She caved quickly after that, told herself again and again it was Lena's nerves, but the drive to Alex's apartment, glancing often into the backseat of the town car where her wife cradled the awake and unhappy child worked her nerves up.

"It's all the smoke from that night. The burn on her leg too, she's probably sleeping heavier than usual. That's all, just a very very sleepy baby." Kara mused and forced herself to appear calm with a big smile for good measure though the entire time she stared at the rearview mirror watching Lena make little faces and poorly attempt to appease Amelia.

Lena watched her intently as if she were the answer to a question she was too afraid to ask. Appraising every detail of her face and responding with big expressions in return that seemed to lull her quiet, she made all kinds of little noises, big long vowel sounds and high pitched little songs, none of which earned a glance or curious shift in her eyes.

"Alex is never going to let us live this down." Kara forced a desperate chuckle and shook her head. "Racing over there at dawn. Just you wait, we'll all be laughing about this by breakfast!"

Lena ignored her and carried on making little sounds though her heart sank quickly with realisation like an entire solar system plummeting out of the sky. Tongue in her teeth, digging in relentlessly, the only thing that cooled the merciless guilt in her throat was the little tug to a long dark piece of her hair.

"...And as for Maggie?"

Lena carried on humming absentmindedly in agreement with her wife. Amelia stared intently at her, fingers wrapped in her hair, mouth widening into something that looked like a smile but was probably trapped wind. Nonetheless, somehow, more than L-Corp ever could, Lena felt like the most important woman in the world trapped in her innocent blue eyed gaze.

"Wynn is going to love this too." Kara continued grinning and chuckling, badly hiding the wracking hot concern that chewed into her stomach.

"She's deaf." Lena said almost nonchalantly, pulling herself out of Amelia's intent stare to meet Kara's crestfallen gaze in the rearview mirror.

"You can't. I. No." Kara bit angrily at the assumption, "You can't know that, Lena."

"It's okay," Lena softened and ghosted her hand around the shape of her wife's tense shoulder. "It doesn't make her any less perfect." her eyes slipped back to the awe striking shape of her mouth.

"Deaf?" Kara mouthed in disbelief and shook her head.

"Yep." Lena nodded and rocked the newborn, "And that's the least interesting thing about you, right?" she cooed at the little girl in her arms who stared back at her in wonderment, reaching for long bits of raven hair that Lena sat and allowed her to sharply tug.

"We can't know for sure-"

"You're right." Lena lied. "But she's ours now and we're going to take care of her no matter what."

"What?"

"Fostering." Lena nodded and bit a smile at Kara's hopeful little grin. "You were right, she should stay with us. If she is deaf it'll be hard to find a suitable home and we're both responsible adults-"

"I love you."

"Just until they can find a permanent home for her." Lena finished acquiescing her logic. 

"I love you." Kara repeated and hid a tiny slither of a tear, embarrassed and pink.

"Mhm," Lena hummed and settled into the commitment of her words, "It's not going to be easy you know?"

"I don't care about that." Kara told her with a small smile.

"You never do." Lena shook her head and peered back at the baby, "Amelia you're going to have to learn pretty fast that what your mom wants, she gets."

Hand tugged to her lipsticked lips, blinking and trying not give away the weight in her chest, she wished desperately to stuff that three lettered word that had escaped with such careless ease back into her mouth. It slipped out so easily it took the air out of her body with it. Gingerly, still flexing her finger inside Amelia's reflexed grip, she peered and found Kara's reaction in the mirror.

"Are you crying?"

"No." Kara lied and bit her bottom lip. "A little." she added when the first happy tears sloughed down the rosy apples of her cheeks.  
  



End file.
